Virginia Tech is a public, land-grant institution of higher education. Its name in full is Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The school is situated on a plateau between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains in Blacksburg, Virginia. Campus highlights include an airport, a plantation dating back to the 18th century, and experimental fields and orchards. Gothic architecture predominates, and many buildings were constructed with limestone from a university-owned quarry. Virginia Tech operates agricultural stations throughout the state. Other facilities include a horse hospital and a model school.
Total enrollment is more than 30,000 students, the majority of whom are undergraduates. The university awards associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees in a wide array of fields. Classes are conducted through the Graduate School, the Pamplin College of Business, and the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Architecture and Urban Studies, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Natural Resources and Environment, Science, and Veterinary Medicine. Students may choose to join the Corps of Cadets and pursue a military education. Opportunities also exist to study abroad, hold internships, and participate in cooperative education programs.
Virginia Tech’s varsity sports teams, nicknamed the Hokies, compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The football team plays in the Football Bowl Subdivision. School colors are burnt orange and maroon.
The institution was founded in 1872 from a Methodist school. It was then known as Virginia Agriculture and Mechanical College. The institution adopted its present name in 1970. In April 2007 a student shot and killed 32 people on the university’s campus before taking his own life.
